When you are pregnant people around you may start behaving differently. They don't want you to carry heavy stuff, they want you to sit down all the time and they're willing to bring you food anytime you ask (those are usually our husbands/partners hah). All of this is just great, and honestly speaking, I'm enjoying it most of the time.
I expected people treating me this way, I also expected that my dog might change her behavior towards me. However, I didn't expect it at this level.
Dogs are generally very sensitive and observant animals. They get used to the family routine quickly and they sense every little change happening in the house. All dogs are different and so are their reactions to a change. While some dogs can adjust easily, others have a hard times doing so, they could be rebellious or start behaving differently.
Something about Taiwan Dogs
It has been mentioned in one of my first articles that we got our BB from the street. Thus we can definitely say that she is a stray mutt... But she is actually not.
I also mentioned that Taiwan has a lot of stray dogs, right? Well, all those dogs didn't appear on the island all of a sudden.
Formosan Mountain Dog, also called Taiwan Mountain Dog or just Taiwan Dog, is conquering Taiwan for more than 20 000 years now. This makes Taiwan Dogs one of the oldest primitive dog breeds in the world! Ancient, loyal and fearless dogs have been an important part of Taiwan’s historical and cultural landscape and nowadays they’re popular as a watch and companion dogs. Sadly, many dogs (and cats) in Taiwan are struggling on the streets, and due to lack of precautions or policies, the number of stray animals is increasing rapidly. According to some resources, the problem started in the 1980s when Taiwan experienced a pet boom thanks to the economic success of the country. People bought puppies of all the popular and fashionable breeds without expecting them to grow bigger, need attention, get sick, etc. Also, the indigenous breed became unwanted and ended up abandoned especially on rural roads or in wooden suburbs. All abandoned dogs started mating together and increasing their numbers quickly. Lately, Taiwan Dog gained popularity in countries like the USA or Canada, where rescue organizations transporting dogs for adoption from Taiwan. Also, many organizations in Taiwan are working hard to save as many animals as possible. All those are great activities, but what Taiwan really needs is an efficient method to control the stray animal population.
If you're an animal lover, you will probably suffer in Taiwan a lot. Seeing dogs and cats eating from the trash bins behind the restaurants, or sick animals around the roads, it really breaks hearts. And it breaks them, even more, when you see what kind of treatment small fluffy poodles and chihuahuas get ... :(
Can dogs sense pregnancy?
Before we decided to keep BB as our dog, I knew that having a Formosa Dog could be challenging. And it certainly was. Especially when she was a puppy full of energy we struggled a lot. After a few months of hard work with her, we managed to teach her sleeping in a crate and walking outside mostly without a leash. She was never a runner, which I really appreciated. She definitely has the features of a typical Formosan Dog, not only that she looks like one. She is loyal, smart, affectionate, she likes attention and learning new commands. She's always been reserved towards strangers but never too much. She barked now and then, usually when someone was about to come to our house or knocked on the door. Overall, I would say that she was a pretty easy dog before I got pregnant.
It all started sometimes around Christmas. Our well-socialized dog out of a blue became an overprotective beast. Now, she's barking every time someone passes our house, which is very often because our door is just the opposite of the playground. I had to go back with the training to remind her how things used to be. So, if you lived somewhere around, you'd probably see me recalling my dog one hundred times in five minutes.
Walking without a leash became a nightmare, especially for people we meet. Every time she sees someone, she turns to a well-payed celebrity bodyguard:
"Step back! I'm protecting this woman! She's carrying something precious. I'm not sure what is it but I'm going to protect it anyway."
It's a bit annoying to know, that more people around our house are being afraid of this little dummy. If only they could see her laying next to me on the sofa and being the cutest thing in the world, they'd be less afraid.
The good news is that, after two weeks of walking with the pocket full of dried meat (which smells horrific) and calling my dog like a crazy woman, B remembered that coming to me pays off more than chasing and barking at people.
It's well-known that dogs have more advanced senses than people (or at least more advanced than not pregnant people haha). They could be trained to find drugs, explosives or even fugitives. They can also detect some types of cancer or seizures, mostly due to changes in the odor of the person.
Since women's body experiences a lot of changes during pregnancy, there have been debates and researches on whether and how dogs can sense those changes.
One of the hypotheses assumes that dogs can smell the change in hormones which is normal and necessary in pregnancy. Dogs might not connect this change with pregnancy, it could definitely change their behavior or attention towards the owners.
I'd definitely say that BB is not connecting A with B. She knows something is up, but if she knew that I'm pregnant she wouldn't try to climb on my belly anytime I'm laying down.
Girl, you are squeezing that poor human there!
Also, dear B, if you're reading this while I'm taking shower, please don't you sit or stand on my belly anymore! There is a little human who's already squeezing my bladder... Thank you :)
Hormonal change can also bring disruptions to a normal daily routine. Morning sickness, waking up during the night, fatigue and moodiness, all those abnormalities can alert your dog that something is happening with you.
Well, I don't know if my first trimester anyhow disrupted our precious dog... I'd say that she was more than happy to spend a lot of time sleeping next to me on the couch. :)
One of the last interesting assumptions I'd like to mention is that dogs might hear the heartbeat of your baby. Again, would you step on someone's belly if you heard the baby's heartbeat from inside? :D
Maybe, I'm just being ungrateful. She is trying so hard to protect me in the sense I can't understand.
Anyway, I think that there are still some mysteries around dogs and I don't think we can fully understand their world.
The only thing we can do is love them.
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